I have been on a mission. You see, I finally have in my possession gorgeous copper mugs, and I needed to fill them. My goal was to find the perfect Moscow Mule recipe to enjoy by the fire this Autumn. (Pumpkin Spice Moscow Mule was not considered for this project. I’ve got nothing against “PS”, but I do think other flavors should have a chance at the lead in the Fall school play, wouldn’t you agree?)
I began my quest with the classic Moscow Mule (vodka, ginger beer, and fresh lime juice).
It was good, but I wanted great, and I wanted Fall. I dug into the deepest recesses of my creative mind to conjure up the essence of October, and came up with placing a cinnamon stick into the cup.
Yippee… a cinnamon stick in a Moscow Mule (I kind of phoned it in there). Back to the drawing board.
I needed to go to the experts, so I made America’s Test Kitchen’s Moscow Mule from their new book How To Cocktail. This recipe is wonderful. A little labor intensive, but wonderful. Instead of using ginger beer, you make your own ginger syrup and you mix it with vodka, lime juice, and seltzer. This recipe is a lovely take on the classic. All of the flavors evolve on your tongue in one sip. The lime hits you first, then the ginger peaks in the back of your throat, and finally the sweetness from the syrup completes the taste. It’s delicious, and refreshing, but not quite Fall flavored. Back to the investigation.
On one of my many Google searches I saw a few headlines for a fig Moscow Mule. Eureka! That was the missing ingredient I was looking for! I decided to combine a muddled fresh fig and some fig jam with America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe. What emerged in my most beautiful Moscow Mule mug (painstakingly handcrafted, and perfectly insulated by Moscow Muled) was a lightly sweet, and lightly spicy concoction with just the subtlest taste of fresh figs.
I drank this lovely muddled fig Moscow Mule with friends (thank you Angi, Michelle, Kfir, and Vanessa!). I drank a few with my husband (Aron loves it! And he’s not a big drinker!) I even drank one or two (it was three) alone in front of the fire. This drink is so good that it has officially become my Autumn anthem. And these shiny copper mugs are so lovely that they’ve officially become my favorite drinking vessels.
Notes
Special equipment needed: Food processor, saucepan, bowl, cheesecloth, strainer, cocktail shaker, cocktail strainer, copper mug, and long cocktail spoon.
Ingredients
For the Ginger Syrup:
- 8 oz. fresh Ginger, unpeeled
- 3/4 cup (75 g) Sugar
- 5 oz. Water
- 1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
- 2 tsp. fresh Lemon Juice
For the muddled fig Moscow Mule:
- 1 fresh Fig, cut in half
- 1/2 tsp. Fig Jam
- 2 oz. Vodka (I used Absolut)
- 1 and 1/2 oz. Ginger Syrup *see above
- 1/2 oz. fresh Lime Juice
- 5 oz. Seltzer, chilled
Instructions
To make the Ginger Syrup:
- In a food processor, pulse the fresh ginger until finely chopped. Dump it into a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the water and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved. Make sure that this sugar mixture never reaches a boil.
- When ready, pour the sugar water over the chopped ginger, and then mix in the ground ginger. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes, and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
- Place a strainer over a medium-sized bowl, and line the strainer with a cheesecloth. Be sure that the cheese cloth hangs over the sides of the strainer.
- Pour the chilled ginger mixture into the cheesecloth-lined strainer, and allow it to slowly strain into the bowl. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes.
- When there is no more liquid dripping down, squeeze the cheesecloth to extract any more syrup from the pulp.
- Discard the pulp, and stir in the lemon juice. Now you have your ginger syrup. Pour into a tight-lidded container and refrigerate. The syrup will keep for a month. Before using, gently shake.
To make the muddled fig Moscow Mule:
- Fill a copper mug with ice. Set aside.
- In a cocktail shaker, muddle together one half of the fig, and the fig jam. Pour in the vodka, and lime juice, cover the shaker, and shake for 30 seconds.
- Strain the contents into the copper mug. Pour the seltzer over top.
- Using a long cocktail spoon, gently stir the drink.
- Garnish with the other half of the fig.
- Cheers!
